My Philosophy

...or, Why This Site Exists

Accessible tech has come a long way over the past two decades. More people are able to use the Internet than ever before. Sadly, that modern Internet is boring. We've gained a lot with modern web design, but we also lost a lot of creativity and humanity.

I've noticed a common perception that accessibility is at least partly the culprit. We've been sold the idea that accessible websites have to be streamlined and sterile. Maybe that was true before modern accessibility tools became available. These days, you can absolutely make an accessible website that looks however you want it to. It might take a bit of work, though.

When most people think about web accessibility, especially in the corporate world, they tend to think about compliance with standards. Things like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are useful benchmarks, but they get treated as the be-all and end-all. That kind of thinking de-centers the reason the guidelines exist: to make the web better for people.

Part of the reason for that is conversations about web accessibility often leave out the voices of actual disabled people. We're seen as the consumers of accessible tech, not as creators and collaborators. A lot of web authoring tools and courses aren't accessible. The assumption, implicit or explicit, is that disabled people will never use them.

I hold to the principle of "nothing about us without us." Disabled people need to be part of the conversation. And I'll acknowledge that, although inaccessible websites can be hard for me to use, I am not the most impacted. We need to listen to blind and low-vision folks. Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks. DeafBlind folks. People with motor disabilities, photosensitive epilepsy, and everything in between. Lived experience is more valuable than any guide will ever be.

Accessibility work needs to be about breaking down barriers. The World Wide Web should be for everyone. If my scrappy lil' website motivates even one other webmaster to make a positive change, it'll all be worth it.